The Newsroom

Calls for CBS Television Stations boss to be fired

Comes after shocking allegations in bombshell LA Times report (January 2021)

This site closed in March 2021 and is now a read-only archive
WH
what
A long-teased report from the LA Times regarding the conduct of senior management at CBS’s Television Stations division (which runs CBS and CW network O&O stations, as well as some independents) has been released, and its contents have left the National Association of Black Journalists calling for the head of the division to be fired.

Two distinct issues here; the first originates in New York. There, CBS own two stations: WCBS 2, and WLNY 10/55, the latter of which they acquired in 2011. The LA Times report reveals the head of CBS Television Stations was given a membership to the ultra-exclusive golf club built by the station’s former owner, in return for buying the station.

Although there were reports of racism and harassment by the heads of the department at stations across the country, the report primarily highlighted misconduct at KYW 3, the CBS O&O station in Philadelphia. According to the LA Times, there have been numerous racism and abuse incidents at the station, with former station news director Margaret Cronan describing working under the executives “toxic”. Included here are quotes from the LA Times highlighted by FTVLive.

Quote:
Cronan said, she witnessed racism and experienced verbal insults. At one 2016 meeting, with several executives in attendance, Cronan said Friend asked her: “What are you, a [expletive] idiot?”

Kennedy said that he walked into the KYW newsroom and saw little diversity on air and worked to change that. The Times writes that his first major move was to install a hometown hero, Ukee Washington, as lead evening anchor. Kennedy said the promotion of Washington — a Black journalist who has been with KYW more than 30 years — was long overdue. Washington started at KYW in 1986 as a sports anchor and, a decade later, became morning news anchor, where he remained for 19 years.

Dunn knew Washington from his KYW days and approved the promotion, but Kennedy said in an interview that Dunn frequently disparaged Washington, calling him “just a jive guy.”

“Peter would say: ‘All he does is dance ... dancing, dancing,’” Kennedy recalled in an interview.

In a 2016 budget meeting, Dunn asked about Washington’s transition to lead anchor.

“He’s not doing that ‘jive talking’ anymore? Sometimes, he’s just not speaking my language,” Cronan recalled Dunn saying in the meeting, which was attended by several people. Kennedy separately recalled the incident.

“I was shocked that a corporate head would use words like that to describe an African American,” Cronan said. “Besides, Ukee was such a valuable asset to viewers and internally to our team. I couldn’t believe Peter Dunn would even be questioning his performance.”

Cronan and the others alleged that Dunn and Friend cultivated a hostile work environment that included bullying female managers and blocking efforts to hire and retain Black journalists.


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With Washington’s move to evenings, KYW managers needed to retool the morning show.

Cronan said she had a taste of what was to come. She recalled that during an early meeting with Dunn, he asked her whether one of the anchors under consideration was “too gay for Philadelphia.” Cronan said she was startled but responded: “Philadelphia can handle it.”

Dunn rejected KYW managers’ initial choice for co-anchor: a Black female journalist with CBS News, Kennedy and Cronan said. By late 2015, KYW had reached out to Brooke Thomas, a TV news anchor from Oklahoma who was then working in Dallas. Thomas, who is Black, flew to Philadelphia to interview, and she impressed the team.

“At CBS in Philly, we needed some personality, we needed some bravado, and Brooke had all of that,” Kennedy said.

They waited for a green light from Dunn and Friend, senior vice president for news for CBS-owned stations since 2010. Friend and Dunn have a close working relationship, and their directives are often intertwined, agents and CBS insiders said.

“Neither David nor Peter liked her,” Cronan said of Thomas. “But they finally, begrudgingly, gave us the thumbs-up.”

The morning show reboot took on huge importance. The network companion, “CBS This Morning,” was gaining in the ratings, and KYW saw an opening for its local newscast. The station created a marketing campaign, and Cronan, Thomas and
co-anchor Jim Donovan spent weeks in the studio rehearsing.


Cronan said she received an angry phone call the next morning from management:
Quote:
“It was just immediate screaming on the phone, not constructive criticism — just venom and profanity,” Cronan said. “He screamed: ‘Tell her to shut the [expletive] up,’” in reference to Thomas. “I was flabbergasted,” said Cronan, who kept her notes from that conversation, which The Times has examined. “I’ve never witnessed that type of behavior in the workplace.”

Friend followed up with an email, also reviewed by The Times: “Can you please tell her to stop shouting, stop talking in a fake Southern accent and stop sucking the air out of the show,” Friend wrote.


CBS are yet to respond to the demands for the removal of the executives involved.

Full story at https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2021-01-24/cbs-television-stations-peter-dunn-racism-sexism (paywall)
LL
London Lite Founding member
I've seen Jim Donovan and Ukee Washington and they're both excellent anchors who fit the schedule nicely. (You should be able to see them on CBSN Philly in the UK) The fact Jim is gay and Ukee is black shouldn't ever be an issue for suits at CBS who should just have approved the talent on the case that they'll bring the numbers to their newscast.

ABC's Action News is the market leader in the Philly market and while they're long established, the CBS bulletin isn't far behind on quality.

On the diversity front, I would say Action News ticks that box with a broad selection of on-air talent who aren't white.
WH
what
I've seen Jim Donovan and Ukee Washington and they're both excellent anchors who fit the schedule nicely. (You should be able to see them on CBSN Philly in the UK) The fact Jim is gay and Ukee is black shouldn't ever be an issue for suits at CBS who should just have approved the talent on the case that they'll bring the numbers to their newscast.

I’ve seen both and think both are brilliant at what they do. I can see why they’re so popular amongst Philly viewers (or at least the minority of them who don’t watch Action News).
WH
what
Executives involved now on administrative leave, according to Variety :

https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/cbs-peter-dunn-david-friend-administrative-leave-1234892054/

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CBS said in a statement. “CBS is committed to a diverse, inclusive and respectful workplace where all voices are heard, claims are investigated and appropriate action is taken where necessary.”
NY
NYTV
And here is how it was reported on one of the stations involved, New York City's WCBS-TV, Long-time WCBS reporter Hazel Sanchez reports

As for Philadelphia's KYW, they ran a network report from CBS News correspondent Jericka Duncan and introducing the report is Janelle Burrell (a former WCBS reporter). Also in this video, a statement from KYW Management

And lastly, KYW's Ukee Washington addresses viewers and thanks them and his colleagues for their support
Last edited by NYTV on 27 January 2021 4:41am
London Lite and what gave kudos
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NYTV
The story doesn't just end in New York and Philadelphia. According to a report on FTVLive, Peter Dunn was alleged to have forced the general manager of CBS's Miami station WFOR, Adam Levy, to pay $10,000 for a charity dinner while having to lay off employees at the station.
Levy was later pushed out of WFOR and was not replaced
https://www.ftvlive.com/sqsp-test/2021/1/26/miami-general-manager-was-told-to-fork-over-thousands-of-dollars-in-midst-of-cbs-layoffs
Former WCBS and CBS Newspath reporter Don Champion shared his story of discrimination at the network.
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I can honestly say I’ve never been discriminated against in the way David Friend and Peter Dunn did me at WCBS-TV. Even before I started, my agent warned me, “be careful, you’re gay, Black and a man. David doesn’t like any of those.” I still question how I got in the door at CBS 2 News- in the end, I think it was fate.

The rest of his statement is here: https://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10106647264600435&id=18406529&set=a.655479412025&notif_t=feedback_reaction_generic&notif_id=1611684354501645&ref=m_notif
MO
Mouseboy33
WBBM Chicago is also involved in this story. From that city's noted media writer Robert Feder:
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In 2018 Marty Wilke stunned the Chicago media community when she abruptly resigned after six years as president and general manager of CBS-owned WBBM-Channel 2. Except for a brief statement expressing gratitude “for having the opportunity to run my hometown CBS station,” Wilke declined to elaborate on her decision to walk away. “It struck some as odd that a 53-year-old woman would retire at the peak of her career,” according to the Los Angeles Times. “She was a battle-tested manager who had previously run the iconic WGN station in Chicago during a turbulent time — the corporate bankruptcy of its parent, then known as Tribune.” On Sunday an L.A. Times investigation revealed that Wilke had been forced out by CBS Television Stations President Peter Dunn after the two repeatedly clashed. (Here is the link.) Once she left CBS 2, nearly all of the senior female executives Wilke had championed were also driven out, she told the L.A. Times. After obtaining a waiver from her nondisclosure agreement, Wilke met with investigators looking into allegations of misconduct, including racism and misogyny, at the company’s highest levels. “My goal is to change the culture for the benefit of so many good people still at the company,” Wilke was quoted as telling them. But now she wonders whether it was worth it. “What was that whole investigation about? Was it just for show?” Wilke asked. “The culture starts and stops with Peter Dunn.” Dunn declined to comment.

In response to the L.A. Times investigation, the National Association of Black Journalists Monday called for the “immediate termination” of Peter Dunn, president of CBS Television Stations, and David Friend, senior vice president of news for CBS Stations and vice president of news at WCBS in New York. “It’s a shame that 45 years after NABJ was founded by 44 brave Black journalists, we are still having to contend with racism,” said Roland S. Martin, vice president-digital for the group. Dorothy Tucker, president of NABJ and a reporter for CBS 2 in Chicago, was not involved in the matter because NABJ board policy prohibits anyone from taking part in discussions about their own company.
NY
NYTV
At this point, there's really no way that Dunn and Friend survive this, Especially since this involves multiple stations across the company.
NY
NYTV
Former WCBS reporter Don Champion speaks to CBS This Morning

WBBM Chicago reports on the allegations
NY
NYTV
And now, a message from KYW CBS 3


NY
NYTV
Another report in the LA Times that now the New York State Attorney General is investigating allegations of racism at WCBS-TV
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In the wake of a Los Angeles Times investigation, which detailed allegations of racism and misogyny at CBS’ Philadelphia TV station, current and former employees of CBS’ flagship station, WCBS-TV Channel 2 in New York, have alleged that they also worked in a “hostile environment” where Black, Latino, Asian and gay employees were treated poorly, and stories that occurred in Black and Latino neighborhoods were at times overlooked. “The first question was always: Where is the story? How is the neighborhood?” Ken Racioppi, a former WCBS news producer, said. He added that when managers learned about news events in communities of color, “All of the sudden, the interest level would just drop. ... Separately, New York Atty. Gen. Letitia James’ office last year began looking into claims of race discrimination against Black employees at WCBS, according to four people familiar with the matter but not authorized to comment. One of two former WCBS employees who said they were interviewed by investigators with the agency’s civil rights division said the office was interested in whether there is “a pattern of racial discrimination” at WCBS.”


Here's the full story: (paywall) https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2021-02-03/wcbs-tv-stations-racism-investigation?_amp=true&__twitter_impression=true
The article also revealed that the New York City Commission on Human Rights is also looking into the firing of a Latina producer from the station following a complaint, the subject of the complaint features alleged comments made by Racioppi:

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The producer had used profane language in an argument with a colleague and had later apologized, according to the complaint, which was reviewed by The Times. The complaint alleges that a CBS human resources executive subsequently used an ethnic stereotype by describing the woman as a “feisty Latina” who was told to leave vulgar language “in the Bronx.”

A person close to WCBS said that the station has responded to the Commission on Human Rights complaint, and that it disputes that a CBS executive made any such comment. CBS declined to provide a copy of its response to the complaint.


In addition, CBS's Miami station WFOR has appointed Tim Wieland, the news director for sister station KCNC 4 Denver, as interim news director until a replacement is named. Wieland will continue his role at KCNC.


Last edited by NYTV on 4 February 2021 1:06am - 6 times in total

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